Page 211 - Petelin, Ana. 2020. Zdravje delovno aktivne populacije / Health of the Working-Age Population. Zbornik povzetkov z recenzijo ▪︎ Book of Abstracts. Koper: Založba Univerze na Primorskem/University of Primorska Press
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R-VITAL project: Preliminary results regarding employee posterji | poster presentations
stress and sleep
Matija Vodopivec, Ana Arzenšek
University of Primorska, Faculty of management, Cankarjeva ulica 5, 6000 Koper,
Slovenia
Introduction: Chronic stress represents a significant burden for individuals,
work organizations and the public health system. Stress in one sphere of life af-
fects functioning in other domains. Workplace stress occurs as a result of or-
ganizational or workplace situations that an individual experiences as threat-
ening or suboptimal. Although stress can be an important driver of creativity,
proactivity and efficiency at work, prolonged and frequent exposure to work-
place stressors is a risk factor for an individual‘s health. When an individual is
confronted with stressors beyond his/ her perceived coping abilities, the in-
dividual‘s well-being is diminished and emotional, cognitive, behavioral conse-
quences or more complex health disorders might be developed. For example,
sleep disorders might occur in the form of inability to fall asleep, as nighttime
awakening, as premature awakening, or as a feeling of tiredness. This paper
presents preliminary results related to self-reported stress and the estimat-
ed quality and quantity of sleep among employees involved in the STAR-VITAL
project. The project is based on encouraging Slovenian companies to build safe
and healthy work environments, with the aim of prolonging the employment
of older employees. Activities for companies are based on the four pillars of
healthy jobs at the World Health Organization, i.e. physical work environment,
psychosocial work environment, employees‘ own resources for healthy living
and collaboration with the social environment.
Method: 834 participants from 27 Slovenian companies took part in the survey.
The survey was conducted between June 2019 and February 2020 on-site at
the participating firms. The questionnaire was in paper-and-pencil format and
in electronic form.
Results: The results indicate interesting trends related to the experience of
stress and sleep patterns in the participants. Employees who report more
stress (work-related and in general) tend to report poorer quantity and quali-
ty sleep. We also found that majority participants perceived the quality of their
sleep as good or fairly good.
Discussion and conclusions: Based on the results of the preliminary study, we
conclude that stress (both at work and in life in general) and good quality sleep
are important determinants of life quality. Managers at participating firms are
advised to regularly monitor the factors that represent employees‘ sources of
workplace stress and implement practices that reduce the sources of stress.
Last but not least, business leaders and individual employees are encouraged
to act responsibly and take care of their own health by strengthening their own
resources to cope with stress and maintaining sleep hygiene.
Key words: STAR-VITAL project, sleep, stress, employees, occupational health
209
stress and sleep
Matija Vodopivec, Ana Arzenšek
University of Primorska, Faculty of management, Cankarjeva ulica 5, 6000 Koper,
Slovenia
Introduction: Chronic stress represents a significant burden for individuals,
work organizations and the public health system. Stress in one sphere of life af-
fects functioning in other domains. Workplace stress occurs as a result of or-
ganizational or workplace situations that an individual experiences as threat-
ening or suboptimal. Although stress can be an important driver of creativity,
proactivity and efficiency at work, prolonged and frequent exposure to work-
place stressors is a risk factor for an individual‘s health. When an individual is
confronted with stressors beyond his/ her perceived coping abilities, the in-
dividual‘s well-being is diminished and emotional, cognitive, behavioral conse-
quences or more complex health disorders might be developed. For example,
sleep disorders might occur in the form of inability to fall asleep, as nighttime
awakening, as premature awakening, or as a feeling of tiredness. This paper
presents preliminary results related to self-reported stress and the estimat-
ed quality and quantity of sleep among employees involved in the STAR-VITAL
project. The project is based on encouraging Slovenian companies to build safe
and healthy work environments, with the aim of prolonging the employment
of older employees. Activities for companies are based on the four pillars of
healthy jobs at the World Health Organization, i.e. physical work environment,
psychosocial work environment, employees‘ own resources for healthy living
and collaboration with the social environment.
Method: 834 participants from 27 Slovenian companies took part in the survey.
The survey was conducted between June 2019 and February 2020 on-site at
the participating firms. The questionnaire was in paper-and-pencil format and
in electronic form.
Results: The results indicate interesting trends related to the experience of
stress and sleep patterns in the participants. Employees who report more
stress (work-related and in general) tend to report poorer quantity and quali-
ty sleep. We also found that majority participants perceived the quality of their
sleep as good or fairly good.
Discussion and conclusions: Based on the results of the preliminary study, we
conclude that stress (both at work and in life in general) and good quality sleep
are important determinants of life quality. Managers at participating firms are
advised to regularly monitor the factors that represent employees‘ sources of
workplace stress and implement practices that reduce the sources of stress.
Last but not least, business leaders and individual employees are encouraged
to act responsibly and take care of their own health by strengthening their own
resources to cope with stress and maintaining sleep hygiene.
Key words: STAR-VITAL project, sleep, stress, employees, occupational health
209
